Kink On Tap 14
Panel * Maymay (@maymaym) ** maybemaimed.com * Emma (@helio_girl) ** FollowsTheSun.com * Andrea Zanin ** SexGeek.wordpress.com * Maureen Hanlon ** @maureengh Topics * Queers United | Open Forum: Halloween and the Trans Community Scores of transgender people who are beginning the coming out process have used Halloween as an opportunity to be cross-dressed in public for the first time. The idea is that everyone is dressing up, and many people who are cisgender dress as the opposite sex, making it a safe opportunity for a trans person to express their gender identity while also not fully disclosing it.' * Progressive Puppy | Teacher Suspended Over Gay Animals Article Illinois high school teacher Dan Delong has been suspended for allowing his students to read a Seed Magazine article about homosexuality in the animal kingdom. Although the assignment was entirely optional, one parent took umbrage and demanded that the Piasa educator be pulled from the classroom. Delong's students promptly created a Facebook group that now boasts over 1800 members calling for his reinstatement. School secretary Pat Milner says that a special board meeting is set for 6 p.m. on Monday at the district office to discuss how best to discipline the teacher. * The Huffington Post | Hate Crimes Bill Signed Into Law 11 Years After Matthew Shepard's Death President Obama signed major civil rights legislation on Wednesday, making it a federal hate crime to assault people based on sexual orientation, gender and gender identity. The new measure expands the the scope of a 1968 law that applies to people attacked because of their race, religion or national origin. The U.S. Justice Department will have expanded authority to prosecute such crimes when local authorities don't. * CNN | Many Conservatives Enraged Over Obama School Speach School administrators are caught in the middle of the controversy. Some have decided to show the president's speech, while others will not. Many, such as Wellesley, Massachusetts, superintendent Bella Wong, are deciding on a class-by-class basis, leaving the decision in the hands of individual teachers. * The Huffington Post | Rhode Island Inches Closer to Banning Prostitution Advocates for the ban include law enforcement officials, the Catholic Church (RI is the nation's most Catholic state), and a small segment of the anti-trafficking community. They have framed the women as victims—of trafficking or other unfortunate circumstances—and some certainly are so, but those same advocates would inexplicably have these victims incarcerated or owing huge fines. In this sour economy, they'd probably work off that debt via further prostitution, putting the general public in a role more comfortably played by what's commonly known as a "pimp." The bill contains no right to diversion to psychological or substance abuse counseling. It provides no protection from deportation. Women would have new criminal records that would make it even harder to find "legitimate" work. * There's Nothing Wrong With Our Genitals | sexgenderbody The anatomical representation we are shown in sex ed classes and the typical playboy layout just don’t cut it, not only do we need to expose ourselves to a wider representation of the human body, but we also need to work at dispelling the kind of myths that only work at disheartening the sexual self-esteem of countless generations of kids. There is still way too much fear when it comes to talking about your own body, and your sexuality with others. Notable Quotes * "Yet another brilliant and incisive point!" ** -- Name @ timestamp External references * Penn & Teller Bullshit: Prostitution @ 1:01:03